Have questions on Office 365 at Penn State? View frequently asked questions below:
General
How is the new Penn State Office 365 email different from my old Smeal email?
Your new Office 365 email is still a Microsoft Exchange product. You can still do all things you used to do, it just might look a little bit different from Smeal’s version of the product and you will need to set up your notifications, preferences, and calendar-sharing to customize your email.
Were all my old Smeal email contacts and groups be saved?
Yes and No. The good news is that your individual contacts will move when your email is moved. Unfortunately, your group contacts will not transfer over with the email move. Any email groups that you had in your Smeal email will need to be recreated. For large email groups, The RIIT Group is available to assist you with this process.
I don’t like the way my name is displayed in Office 365. Can I change that?
You can change your preferred name. Note that you can’t change your name to display in a different order than the default of Last, First. Here’s how to change your preferred name:
NOTE: There me be a delay in preferred name approval
Will faculty and staff members who purchased Office 365 for a personally owned laptop be able to get reimbursed?
No, faculty and staff members who have previously purchased Office 365 for a personal computer will not be reimbursed.
How many devices can I download Office 365 onto for desktop or mobile use?
Office applications can be installed on up to five tablets and five phones per user. Desktop versions of Office 365 can be downloaded on up to five Macs or PCs.
If I install Office 365 on my child’s computer, will they log in as me?
Yes, Office 365 is licensed by your Penn State user ID and will have your account associated with it.
If I have a prior version of Office 365, will I lose any features?
It will depend on what license you had before you start using Office 365 at Penn State.
What happens to the current version of Office on my University-owned computer? Will Office 2013 stop working? Do I need to upgrade?
No. It’s not necessary to upgrade. Bix Fix will automatically update all University-owned computers.
Do we have full privacy or information and ownership of intellectual property in Office 365?
Learn more about intellectual property privacy on the Microsoft Office 365 website.
What happens when I leave the University or move to another unit?
If you leave the University, you will need to download or backup any of the documents you need to take with you. When your Access Account is decommissioned, you will lose access to any Office 365 applications you used through your Penn State Access Account.
If you transfer to another unit, you will still have access to your personal documents on OneDrive and access to all applications. You may lose access to shared resources, sites, and teams in Microsoft Teams.
When I try to log in to my Office 365 account, I receive a 500 error.
Change the URL to https://office.psu.edu and try to log in again.
I am receiving a script error when signing in to activate my Office 365 applications.
If you are currently using Windows 7 or 8, please be aware that there is an issue when authenticating your access to the Office 365 online applications. You can authenticate by logging in to the desktop, or local, versions of Outlook, OneDrive, OneNote, or SharePoint applications.
Will Penn State download Office 365 to my mobile devices?
You will be responsible for downloading the mobile applications to your devices if you choose to use the applications on those devices. There are instructions on this site (linked below) and The RIIT Group is available to assist you with any questions you have about getting your mobile devices set up.
Applications
What applications are included in Penn State’s Office 365 license?
Office 365 offers a host of applications for seamless collaboration, communication, and productivity. Tools included in Penn State’s Office 365 access include Outlook, Word, Sway, SharePoint, and more. Learn more about available applications by visiting the applications page.
Which Microsoft applications can I use before my Penn State Outlook email is activated
All the Office 365 applications will work. However, the functionality of some applications, such as Teams, may be limited until your Penn State Office 365 Outlook account is activated.
Can you access Office 365 applications online?
Yes, Office 365 applications are available online and downloadable for your desktop.
Will Access and Publisher be available?
Yes. Access and Publisher are not available online, but they are available to download and install on your desktop.
How do I get help if I do not have access to Microsoft applications?
Contact the IT service desk by submitting an online help request at service.psu.edu. You can also contact The RIIT Group with your questions.
Email and Calendaring
I don’t like the colors in my Office 365 email. How can I change that?
For Chrome users, this extension improves contrast: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/owa-reality-stone/hjijkamcdjnedkpmennfjolopmgmmfmm
To change your Outlook theme, please see these resources: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/change-a-theme-and-make-it-the-default-in-word-or-excel-c846f997-968e-4daa-b2d4-42bd2afef904
Where are my contact groups?
While your contacts migrate, your contact groups do not migrate. If you’d like assistance on moving these, please contact The RIIT Group for assistance.
I am not seeing all of my email folders in Office 365.
View the knowledge article on how to expand your folders.
I am not receiving all of my emails in Office 365.
View the knowledge article on how to verify or change your forwarder.
I am no longer receiving emails in my external email system, i.e. Gmail
See the knowledge article on how to set up a forwarder in Office 365.
How can I move my files from Webmail or UCS?
If you use another Penn State email platform (i.e. webmail or UCS) and have files that you’d like to save, contact The RIIT Group
Will my old Smeal email, UCS and other mail systems eventually go away? When will other mail systems go away?
Yes, after all licensed user’s mail has been transitioned to Office 365, UCS and other University mail and calendaring systems will be removed.
Email Archives
Email Archives (PST files) need to be relinked to the new Outlook. If your email archive files are not showing up, please contact The RIIT Group.
When will Penn State students be getting access to Penn State Office 365 email?
All new students had access to Outlook starting in May of 2018. Current students were transitioned to Outlook over the summer of 2018.
How long after my move to Penn State’s Office 365 email will I retain access to my prior email and calendaring system?
You will lose access to your previous email and calendaring system approximately sixty days after you gain access to Outlook.
Why can’t I change calendar events that have moved to Outlook from my old calendar system?
The email move process was unable to manage event ownership. You will need to cancel the event and then reschedule.
Why do my emails with attachments sometimes take a while to reach recipients?
Penn State’s implementation of Microsoft Office 365 comes with a premium security add-on, Advanced Threat Protection (ATP). ATP can identify malicious web addresses, email attachments, and account compromises based on its built-in machine intelligence.
Please be aware that since Penn State is using ATP for email attachment security, you may experience a slight delay between the time an email is sent and when the message arrives to the recipient’s mailbox. The minimal pause caused by Microsoft’s automated ATP process is actually analyzing the attachment for security concerns prior to delivery.
The cybersecurity of Penn State and the University community is of vital importance and we thank you for your understanding.
Can I use another email client?
Yes, though the experience will be superior when using the Outlook client.
Is there an email quota with Outlook?
Yes, the current quota is 50GB but is increasing to 100GB. Users can archive an additional 100GB.
Will Mac users be able to use existing Mac email clients?
Yes, they will be able to use the Mac clients and other devices should be able to use their native clients. However, the Outlook client will provide a superior user experience.
What attachment file types from external email accounts are acceptable in Penn State’s Outlook email?
Many of standard file types will be supported. However, the Penn State configuration will not allow the following file types: .ace, .ani, .app, .docm, .exe, .jar, .reg, .scr, .vbs, .com, .bat
How can I change the time, place, or attendees of a meeting I own that has been moved from an old calendar system to Outlook?
You will need to delete the meeting in Outlook and reschedule.
Will users have the ability to configure email clients POP or IMAP?
Both IMAP and POP will automatically be disabled for Outlook. Until authentication issues are resolved users must request to have IMAP enabled. POP can be enabled by submitting a justification for approval.
With POP disabled, can we configure specific accounts to remove mail from server upon checking?
No. You will need to delete any email you want off of the server and empty your trash folder on your respective mail client.
Will users be able to forward Penn State email to an external email client (i.e., Gmail)?
Yes, there is an option to do this at both administrative and user levels.
Will my email be scanned for malicious content?
Yes, you can learn more about Outlook spam filters and anti-malware protections on the Microsoft Office website.
Will non-person service accounts in UCS be moved over? Will the Starfish group accounts move?
Yes, because those are service accounts they will be moved to Outlook.
Are shared mailboxes supported?
Yes. Shared mailboxes must be approved by a Dean, Chancellor, Director or Senior-Level Administrator for responsible usage by the owner.
Is the creation/granting of mailboxes for use by Software Applications supported?
Yes. Mailboxes created and intended for use by Software Applications must be approved by a Dean, Chancellor, Director or Senior-Level Administrator.
How do I forward messages from Gmail to my Penn State Office 365 email?
Visit this Google’s Gmail support article to learn how. If you have trouble forwarding to your Penn State email address (e.g. xyz123@psu.edu), use the extended Office 365 email address, e.g. xyz123@pennstateoffice365.onmicrosoft.com.
How do I create aliases in Office 365?
You can create up to three aliases through WorkDay. Changes will be synced to Office 365 within 24 to 48 hours. When using Outlook, your primary address that messages will be sent from will be your Penn State user ID, e.g. xyz123@psu.edu. However, you can receive emails from any alias that you create. The software engineering team is working on a resolution to allow the user to select which alias to use as their primary address.
Security
What information should not be stored on Office 365 applications? Office 365 and its applications are not approved by Penn State University for the storage of “High” or “Restricted” information. Penn State’s Policy AD95 establishes guidelines for information classification and handling of information within the University. Please refer to the following links prior to using Office 365.